Could there be any more suspense than the ramp up to the conclusion of this book? Horror, murder, evil spirits, vampire-like behavior, grudges, witchcraft, voodoo, zombies, crows(?) are just a sampling of the action devices we find here. You will not want to put this one down. Some of the relationships seem naive or phony. That is the only flaw I could detect. It's a resolution but not necessarily a happy ending. My thanks to the author and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book.

Hemlock Island starts out as a typical locked-door thriller with an island setting. However, it soon becomes clear that this island and book are anything but typical. As the suspense and creep factor increase, so does the uncertainty of reality. What is really going on? Is this a thriller or horror novel? Both or neither? Because of this, anything goes and it’s not what you might expect. This book was very unique and definitely scary to read alone at night. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

4 Stars ⭐️

This book did a great job getting me engaged and interested right off the bat. There are immediately some spooky elements with Laney and her 16 year old niece. Laney a recent divorcée created her home on an excluded island into a vacation rental. But weird things have been happening such as some renters leaving occult hexes behind. Scaring other renters.

After renters find blood on a closet door Laney and her niece leave to go investigate but are surprised when her ex husband, sister in law, and a couple friends show up unannounced. They all travel to the island and immediately in the book things go awry. Creating immediately a very spooky/isolating uncomfortable read.

This is my first book from this author. I am really interested to read other works from her. I really appreciated the paranormal side of this story. This really made this story a lot of fun and also caused me to be scared a couple times. It really wasn't what I was expecting,

The pacing of this book is great. It moves very quickly. I do wish the chapters themselves though were a bit shorter. They felt a bit long for this style of story.

The majority of this book was a 5 star read for me. However some things that didn't work for me was some of the relationship issues. A lot of it stemmed from straight up not communicating. That was incredibly frustrating as a reader. The last 10-15% of the book lost me a bit. The paranormal part I liked but the explanation of why was a bit of a let down.

I would 100% recommend this book during spooky fall season. The atmosphere was great and the author does a great job setting the mood. I also would recommend this book to readers who enjoy isolation setting horror.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication.

Ummmm...what did I just read? This was a crazy intense, sit all day until you finish it type of book. It starts off strong and does not let up. The creepy factor is sky high, and you will not want to step foot onto any island for the near future. That is a crazy statement for me because I love islands. There are backstories, friendship, drama, deeply hidden family secrets, love interests, and of course all the dead bodies. This is a race against time. To figure out what exactly is going on this little slice of heaven, known as Hemlock Island.

Laney is newly divorced, dealing with her sister's death, and trying to raise her niece. The only thing she wanted in the divorce was Hemlock Island. The only way she can keep it is by renting it out. She hates that people are in her personal space, touching her things, breaking into everything she locks up. What is wrong with people? Laney is woken in the dead of the night by a disgruntled renter. They discovered something in one of the closets. Something that made them jump into the boat and race back to mainland. Something that made their blood run cold. Laney has discovered hexes, and other weird symbols around the island. Could this be connected to that?

This book caught me by surprise. I was not expecting the ending whatsoever. It made my skin crawl, and the gore was unexpected. There were so many backstories that were finally becoming known. There were a few moments that read a little unrealistic. A rehashing of a romance, kissing while bodies fall around you, deep conversations about the past. Perhaps it was just their way of dealing with this incredibly intense situation? Thank you to Kelley Armstrong and St. Martin Press for sending me a copy of this terrifying book. No trips to the basement tonight!

This book is very challenging for me to write a review. The reason being - I felt like I read 2 different books. When I started reading, I could not put this book down. It grabbed me right from the start and just kept going. I truly felt this was the best book I had ever read by this author. This would have been a 5 star rating with copious amounts of gushing, until the ending. So, I am going to review the first 95% of the book and then comment on the ending.

This starts out with a group of family & former friends coming together on a remote island in Lake Superior to investigate some vandalism that occurred there. The owner of the island is Laney, her ex-husband, ex-best friend, niece and 2 other former friends meet on the island. The relationships between these 5 characters are extremely complicated. I felt the characters were well developed and there was a lot of emotion put into them

Bad things start to happen, and the characters find out that all of their resources to get off of the island have been destroyed. So, now we have gone to a trapped on an island with no way to escape mystery. This plot is handled really well, and then little pieces of supernatural elements are added into the plot. Alright, so now let's go with this. It continues to work, until it doesn't.

I was so into the story and felt everything was just so well done, and then the ending came. WHAT!!! WHY!!! It was just not cohesive to the story. I hated it. Why would you take such a fantastic story that was so good and give it that ending. I just can't. Up until the ending this was getting a 5 star, then it went to a 2-3 star. I am personally giving this story a different ending in my mind and pulling it up to a 4 star rating.

Thank you to Netgally and St. Martin's for the ARC

This horror book was everything! Kelly Armstong knows how to write a book that will wrap you tightly in its grasp and not let you go even after the book is finished. The characters are amazing, the atmosphere of the island is spot-on and the tension between the group builds beautifully and keeps you guessing if any of them could be behind the weirdness going on. It was eerie and creepy, with the perfect amount of suspense. This book kept me guessing the entire time and when the reveal came I was surprised, and absolutely loved it!

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to add this one to my collection!!

Kelley Armstrong pulls no punches in Hemlock Island, an engrossing horror, that seems like an amalgamation And Then There Were None and every single scary book that had you hiding under the blankets. Laney owns a house and island in Lake Superior, which you can only get to by boat. She loves her writing hideaway, but after her divorce the only way that she can afford to keep it is to rent to vacationers. Unfortunately the renters don’t treat the place like their own homes (at least let’s hope not) and they use her locked up possessions, burn property, vandalize the island, and kill animals. They seem to be a necessary evil or at least part of one because it seems that someone is displaying ritualistic objects in and around her house. The last renters were so frightened that they fled before spending a night.

In response, Laney and her niece decide to go the island to check it out. She informs her ex-husband, Kit, who decides to join her with his sister and Laney’s once best friend, Jayla. Then their group grows by two when Laney’s estranged friend, Sadie, decides to go along with her brother who is a policeman. Not long after the group arrives strange things begin to happen. And then one of them disappears.

Evil property investors? Satan worship? Zombies? All of these things floated around as I read. Kelley Armstrong does a great job of keeping the reader guessing on that front, but also with regards to the personal drama among the cast of characters. What is it that Sadie wants from Laney? What really happened in their past? All of these questions keep you reading for the answers.

I sailed through Hemlock Island pretty much oblivious to everything around me. When it came to the great reveal, I knew to expect the unexpected and was not disappointed with any of it.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s and Netgalley for a copy.

Kelley Armstrong could write ANYTHING and I'd be completely enthralled.

I loved this story it was the perfect amount of creepy and mysterious, I had goosebumps part way through and was devouring this book. I did not see one twist coming and my jaw dropped. As always the character building was great, the setting was beautiful but also creepy. The secrets among the group was an added amount of mystery that I enjoyed. Overall a quick read that kept me up until the middle of the night finishing it but well worth it!

Be prepared to set aside enough time to read the whole book once you start! I didn't and wound up reading way past my bedtime, then dreaming about islands and frightening happenings.

This could have been just a standard horror book with all the tropes (don't go outside alone!), but the character development made this so much more, and made the stakes seem so much higher as a result.

Gripping, dark, twisty. Just my kind of read!

Hemlock Island follows Laney, a teacher and author raising her niece, who was gifted a private island by her ex husband in her divorce. Laney can’t afford the upkeep on the island, so she rents the house on the island out to vacationers. Recently, she’s had renters complain about finding strange occult items in the house and around the island, but when a renter complains about finding blood in the house, Laney knows she needs to make a visit and check things out herself. With her niece in town, Laney makes it to the island, only to find her ex husband and his sister have also showed up to check things out. Things quickly take a turn with the arrival of two other people from Laney’s past, a storm that’s rolling in, and someone or something sinister lurking on the island.

This book started off strong for me, but it ended up being just okay. There were some genuinely creepy things that happened at the beginning of the book, and the isolated island vibes were great. However, I felt like the characters weren’t fully fleshed out, so it was hard to care about their interpersonal drama. I also hated the plot twist that revealed the connection between Laney and Garrett, I felt like it was done more for shock value than anything else. When the big reveal came about what was actually happening on the island, I felt like it was very lacklustre and kind of disappointing. This book was just okay for me.

I really wanted to love this book, it had a great atmosphere, and decent premise. I just couldn’t get into the story, maybe it was the writing style. It was just meh for me, DNF at 32%

This story read like a b horror movie and not in a good way. I couldn't connect with the characters and I really hated the dialogue. I feel like it's a great start, it just needed some polishing.

Laney owns a property that she rents out on Hemlock Island, but when one of the renters complains about scratches and blood in a closet she heads out to see what’s up and that sets into motion and terrifying, non stop nightmare. I really loved this one. It takes a lot to scare me and I was truly rattled by a scene in this cause it played into some of my deep fears. The only reason it lost a star is because of a twist near the end that just pulled me out of the story and didn’t feel needed. Overall though this was an awesome horror story! Thanks to Netgalley for the arc!

A vacation home on a remote island on Lake Superior sounds like a great idea until creepy things start to happen. This is my kind of horror story where it starts out subtle and then gets under your skin. People start getting picked off from the group and it just builds to the end. Kelley Armstrong never lets me down!

I really wanted to like this as Kelly Armstrong has become a go to author for me, but this one just didn't hit the mark. This is a very slow burn horror that just kind of touches the surface. It never felt like the horror aspects of it got too deep. If you like locked room mysteries and abandoned islands you'll love the setting. The cast of characters all have secrets and as the novel progresses you learn more and more. Hemlock Island kept me reading, but wasn't my favorite. 2.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this one out in September!

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Laney, a school teacher & part-time novelist, was left with an entire island & the large house built upon it after her post-pandemic divorce. To continue to afford her dream writing getaway, she begins renting out the island to numerous guests who fail to respect neither the boundaries that Laney sets nor the island itself. When Laney gets a call about blood & scratch marks in one of the closets, which is not the first strange thing to have happened recently, Laney sets out to investigate with her teenaged niece, Madison. Laney’s ex-husband, Kit, and Kit’s sister & Laney's ex-best friend, Jayla, heard that they were going to the island & decided to join them. Two other people from Laney’s past show up uninvited, who start stirring up old secrets; secrets that Laney would have hoped to stay buried.
What doesn’t stay buried, though, is a human hand found half-buried against the house, which sets off a series of very unfortunate events, including having no way to get off the island or call for help. Tensions between the characters rise on multiple levels as they try to figure out who, or what, might want to strand them on Hemlock Island, & why.

This was the first book I’ve read by Kelley Armstrong, & I enjoyed it! I’ve been in the horror/thriller mood, & Hemlock Island definitely satisfied my mood. It was super fast-paced, wasted no time getting to the gory and scary parts, and had supernatural elements that I wasn’t expecting. Madison was so bad-ass & was my favorite character. I loved how everyone just accepted all of the weird, unexplainable shit that was going on & just went with it. I did think the “big secret” that continued to be alluded to played out way too long, & there was too much discussion of the past & of the status of their relationships than was needed, especially under the circumstances. Also, the very end was a bit weird & unorthodox, but I don’t think I’m mad about it…
Overall, this was the perfect quick & scary read, & I’d be open to reading more from Kelley Armstrong.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC!!

This was such a good book, I suggest going in blind and enjoy!

There are scary stories....and then there are Scary Stories. For me, I find the creepiest thriller/suspense stories are ones that keep me thinking "This could happen." I found myself frequently stopping while reading this book to think "Holy crap - something like this could actually happen to someone."

Going through a divorce during/after the pandemic isn't an uncommon thing. I'm going through one myself right now. Losing almost everything you own during a divorce and trying to hang on to the one thing you have left -- a house, property, whatever it may be -- is a common occurrence. But throw in being forced to rent the property to strangers and then having odd/creepy things happening that pulls in your ex, friends, relatives, etc.

For that house to be on an island. And, for all those people with awkward history to be trapped there together. Possibly with a killer.

I was seriously creeped out by this story.

At first I was pulled in by this new book because I enjoy Kelley Armstrong's writing. I've been a big fan of her Rockton series since it started, and just read the new novel in the spin-off series, Murder at Haven's Rock. But let's get real, if Kelley wrote it I would probably read the Encyclopedia of Stereo Instructions and love it. She's one of my favorite authors.

Once I got started reading, I couldn't put the book down. Binge read time! The story seriously pulled me right in and creeped me the hell out. I love mysteries and thrillers that involve locked doors or a group of people not able to escape the situation. Ever since I read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, I have loved this sort of story!

Well done, Kelley! I loved this book!!

**I voluntarily an advanced review copy of this book from St. Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Hemlock Island is Kelley Armstrong's first foray into the horror genre, and for a first effort it certainly hit all the right markers - suspenseful story, dramatic backdrop, reasonably intelligent characters. While this is not ever going to be one of my favorites' of Kelley's works, it is one I will recommend to anyone looking for a solid spooky-season read.

Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers, a sacrifice to make ends meet that leaves Laney on edge. A series of damages, break-ins, and the loss of potential renters drives Laney to take her young niece and go investigate. Supported by a group of friends - or frenemies - Laney and her niece are dragged into a dramatic and terrifying experience on Hemlock Island that none of them expected.

Overall, this book had an excellent concept and storyline, but I felt we didn't get enough time for the characters to develop, for us to care about them. I was also a little disappointed by the twist ending, I enjoy trying to solve the mystery and the way this one was written it was simply not possible as a reader to piece together the clues and solve it yourself. This is simply my preference, and I'm sure others will love the twists and turns this story takes you on!

Hemlock Island follows Laney who has been renting out her vacation home to strangers. One day a guest staying at the house find blood in the guest room. Laney goes to the home to investigate along with her daughter. Her ex and his sister also show up. Soon they discover a hand poking up from the earth. They are determined to figure out what is going on.

I was a little let down by this one. This book sounded so good. I did like it but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I really enjoyed the horror / thriller vibes of this story. But I did feel like it was a bit all over the place. But overall not a bad book.